Running Android on your HD2 is not the easiest thing to wrap your head around. Basically you start Android from Windows, but it turns off Windows Mobile during the process. This means that you can start any version of Android, or even Ubuntu you want.

It is worth mentioning is that the entire OS runs from your SD card, which does impact battery life but the performance is very close to native.

If you are going down this road then you are going to have to accept that there are some things that just do not work, and others that mostly work. However if you keep an eye on the forums you will see that they release updates quite regularly and more things work with every version.

Figure: Downloading may take some time unless you have a premium account

Once you have it downloaded you need to copy it to SD card. It is best to keep each version in its own folder so you can easily switch if you are not happy with the new one.

Figure: Always keep the old version around until you are happy

I like to use the default “Android” folder as it causes me a lot less pain than trying to use a custom folder. If you are a more advanced user I am sure you could solve the problems, but I could not be bothered. I just want something that works…

Make sure you read the “readme” to get the latest information, but you can now just run the “CLRCAD.exe” and then the “haret.exe” applications. However I have found this to be problematic and I guess other have as well as there is now a little runner application for Windows Mobile.

There is really no requirement to do this, it just makes it quicker to launch after booting into Windows.

Figure: You need to tap to change the version of Android you want to load

You can see the Auto boot options at the bottom that allow you to just turn on your phone and have it ultimately running Android.

Figure: You can tap anywhere around the Android logo to run this version

Once you start Android you will have to wait for a while and even longer if this is the first time you have booted that version. In fact it could take as long as 5-10 minutes on first boot, but you just need to wait. With this new v2 it creates a 1gb data file which takes a while and eats your battery. This is normal, and will only happen the first time you boot.

If you notice the message “failed to find rootfs.img on SD card” then you probably have an issue. Similarly if you notice that your phone has been “Booting” for over 30 minutes its probably configured incorrectly. If this is the case then you should retry and watch the boot sequence. You will see an “Error with XXX” or a “Could not access XXX” and just Google the exact message to find the problem. This is why I went back to using just the “Android” folder.

Figure: Running Android on your HD2 is very nice on the 4.2” screen.

I really do like Android, and if Windows Phone 7 does not live up to its expectations this is probably the OS I will run. I had first exposure to it when my wife got her first Android (HTC Tattoo) and recently I used a Vodafone 845. These phones are small, but they still offer a far better experience than Windows Mobile 6.

Running Android on my HD2 is such a superior experience that Windows Phone 7 will need to be almost perfect beat it; I really hope it is…

Did you know that the DOD has made it illegal to do waterfall? For the first time in many years the Department of Defence (DOD) in the United States had made a major update to its procurement rules. They can no longer be held accountable for holding up our industry, and being culpable for its inability to move towards agility. The last vestiges of the old ways are gone.

To my understanding there is a frustrating misunderstanding of reality when one thinks that the Product Owner can reject a single story at the Sprint Review. This is the fallacy of the rejected backlog item.